Far From Home

Terry

Terry knew he was a long way from home, no longer surrounded by the reef that kept him safe from predators. But he had no idea how to get back. He clung to the tiny stick that had dragged him along the ocean currents, unable to swim fast enough to escape it's pull.

He passed a turtle, billowing plastic peeking from its jaws, its eyes eaten by passing fish.

A seagull plunged down beside him. Terry shouldn't even be here. He should've been in his reef. If only that stick hadn't come his way. He had clung to it because the rest of the coral was beginning to turn white, though he had no idea how.

The seagull left him alone, and Terry wondered why. Until the currents dragged him into a swirling mass of alien trash. It seemed that all the ocean currents were collecting the trash, trying to keep it away from the ocean life. He looked around. Trash from all directions was slowly pushed, adding on to the every growing pile. Where was it coming from? When would it stop?Terry wondered how many there were in the whole wide ocean. 

He was pushed further into the trash. Would Terry die trapped in alien trash? Bright colours swirled past him. Terry desperately searched for food, but plankton was hard to come by. There was nothing for them to eat here.

But then something cut through, letting light reach the ocean floor below for just a moment. Terence was swept up by... something, and brought out of the water. He moved, trying to return to the depths, even if it were slowly killing him.

"Hey! There's a seahorse in here. Quick, get the eski." Terry was picked up and transferred to the clearer water, still clutching the pink stick. There were other rescued creatures, but they barely moved. Terry was feeling quite weak himself.

"Look at this." The voice sounded annoyed, and the stick was ripped from him. He floated aimlessly, but there was no current to sweep him away. "Can you believe some people? I'm so glad we're doing this. It really helps the marine life, and us too. But there's a lot here." There was a pause. Terry knew how large the dump seemed. "We're going to need more funding. I really hope some are less heartless than others. But how do we get the message out? People are really ignorant." The voice was getting angry. "They'd rather save two minutes than not use plastic. See that turtle over there? It died because someone couldn't be bothered to keep a reusable bag in their car. This seahorse shouldn't even be here! It should be in the reef thirty nautical miles from here! Do you know how far that is? These innocent animals have been poisoned because of laziness!" The voice calmed down to a whisper. "I just wish people would get the point. Poisoning the animals poisons us too..."